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This little dessert is like an apple pie perfectly portioned out into little bundles of apple cinnamon filling enclosed with the flakiest and crunchiest crust. Let me tell you: pair a couple apple empanadas with some vanilla ice cream, topped with salted caramel drizzle, and you will be totally lost in heavenly bliss.

I’m not even joking.

I speak from experience..it happened to me last night.

Plus, they are just too cute. Honestly, in my house we’ve been calling them “cuties.” You can too:)

Ingredients:

Empanada Dough:

2 ¼ cup flour

1 ½ tsp salt

1 stick of COLD unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 egg

1/3 cup COLD water

1 tbsp white vinegar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp sugar

Salted Caramel Drizzle:

½ cup milk (you can also use cream)

2 ½ tbsp unsalted butter

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

¾ cup sugar

2 tbsp light corn syrup

2 tbsp water

Apple Filling:

3 medium apples, diced

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp honey

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions:

1. Make the dough: Combine flour, butter, salt, cinnamon, and sugar in a food processor. Pulse 5-6 times until the dough looks like parmesan cheese. In a small bowl whisk together egg, water, and vinegar. Slowly add this mixture to the dough while pulsing. Continue pulsing until the dough forms into a ball. Take the dough out and give it a couple kneads. Then wrap it in plastic wrap and refridgerate for about an hour (or more!).

2. Make the salted caramel drizzle: In a small saucepan on low heat, combine milk, butter, and salt. Allow it to melt and combine until all the salt granules have dissolved. Set aside and then whisk in vanilla extract. In a larger saucepan on medium-high heat combine sugar, water, and light corn syrup. Continue swirling the mixture in the pot until the color turns light brown. Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the milk mixture. *Be prepared: it WILL boil up quite a bit, so make sure you use a tall enough pot* Immediately after combining evenly, pour into a heat-safe bowl or cup so that it can cool completely.

(cream mixture not pictured)

3. Make the apple filling: Add sugar, butter, honey, and cinnamon to a saute pan over medium heat. Once it has melted and combined, add apples. Cook apples for 10-15 minutes with a covered lid, stirring every couple minutes, until they are soft. Add walnuts.

4. Assemble: Roll out empanada dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut out small circles of dough using a circular cutter (about 3-3½ inches) and re-refridgerate for 30 minutes. Once the dough circles are cold, fill them with a tablespoon of apple filling and a teaspoon of caramel drizzle in each one’s center. Whisk an egg in a separate bowl and brush the edges of the circles before you close them together. Use the prongs of a fork to get the sides to stick to one another. Arrange them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Then brush the tops of the empanadas with egg wash.

Thank you Allie for sharing your recipe! I didn’t heed your warning enough about the sugar boiling up when adding the cream mixture, which left me whisking like a mad woman and cracking up at the same time! 🙂 Other than that faux pa- the caramel is AMAZING! Thank you for the inspiration!